Simply Ledyard CT

Day 4 Without Power in Ledyard

I was cranky today. I can't say again how much the lack of communication is making me crazy. The good news is that Ledyard Public Works made great progress today opening all the roads in Town and removing trees on lines.

Ledge Light Health district will be delivering water and meals starting tomorrow afternoon from Ledyard Town Hall and all the emergency services people are doing a wonderful job!

Other good news? Having a camp stove is awesome. I forgot how much I love cooking with gas.

I am going M&M shopping tomorrow. It will make me feel better.

The photo below is of the CL&P outage map. Ledyard is still in black. Black is bad.

Please excuse the appearance of this blog post - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad, getting power from an inverter hooked up to a boat battery

Day 3 Without Power in Ledyard

I don't have it nearly as bad as most. Although I don't have power, water, cable or Internet, I do have a generator and can run my IPad off an inverter hooked up to a boat battery. My wifi card keeps me connected.

I rarely use my blog to vent but I'm hearing from a lot of frustrated Ledyard folks. Town Hall should be set up as a resource center, regardless if they have power or not. Instead it is closed for a third day. I'm tempted to go set up a help desk in the parking lot.

What do our neighbors need and who is coordinating the effort?


Please excuse the appearance of this blog post - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad, getting power from an inverter hooked up to a boat battery.

Day 2 Without Power in Ledyard

I wanted to stop by and say hello! Access to my blog isn't quite as easy without an Internet connection or power. Fortunately, using my IPad with an inverter and my wifi card, I have the opportunity to pay a visit and leave a few words here.

The power company says we might have power by Saturday. That seems a long time from now.

One thing I've learned about people during these first two days without power is that most people will put up with most anything as long as they are kept informed. Unfortunately, CL&P our electric company, isn't doing a great job of that. I don't think I am being too hard on them. We would just like a few more details about progress and priorities so we can deal with it. And we will deal with it. We are New Englanders.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Ledyard Photo Friday

Due to the impending arrival of Hurricane Alice to the area, Photo Friday has been canceled until next week when I am sure I will have plenty of photos to share.

Be safe.

Linda

Those Moldy CT Foreclosure Homes

I’ve had foreclosure listings that have been vacant for well over a year before they were listed for sale. These homes sat empty with no heat or electricity in the winter and no air movement in the summer. I have no doubt that many foreclosed homes in CT are growing mold.

In a recent article in the New Haven Register, the writer expressed concern that “an awful lot of people don’t want to talk about how many foreclosed homes in Connecticut may be infested with mold.” 

Fortunately, I work with Bank of America. Yes, I can hear the collective groan now.  Bank of America has made its share of bonehead moves that have been reported in the news of late, but when it comes to mold, they mean business.  Even on my listings with the tiniest traces of mold, they will spend thousands of dollars and have the homes cleaned (of mold) to perfection.

If you are buying a Bank Foreclosure, be sure to have a mold test. You may be getting a great deal and the bank who owns the house may not be willing to remove the mold but at least you will know what you will be dealing with.  Otherwise it is “buyer beware”.

Ledyard Schools Open August 31st

Just a reminder and a message from your teacher....

Ledyard Mortgage Monday

A recent paper written by Christopher Mayer, and R. Glenn Hubbard from the Columbia Business School suggest a different, and I think somewhat unusual solution to Real Estate Recovery through Homeowners Refinancing their homes. This in turn would also bring about an Economic Recovery as well according to their paper.

If their proposal were to be followed 30 million homeowners across the country would refinance their mortgages, if the Federal Government were to share in the equity lose that homeowners have experience in the declining market that we have been in. According to them the Governments incentive for doing this is that our economic problems are unlikely to go away until the housing market is stabilized.

In their proposal, they suggest that interest rates should further be reduced by one more percent for Borrowers with Federally Insured Loans who are current on their mortgages. They claim that by doing this home prices would increase by 10% to 17% nationally. This would in turn make it more affordable for future Homebuyers to purchase homes. I am not sure that I follow their logic, but they have far more degrees than I do, and their expertise is in economics.

This refinancing plan would only be, as I stated before, for those Homeowners that are current on their mortgages. So it is not an answer for those that can no longer afford their mortgage payments, and have fallen behind.

Hubbard and Mayer believe that their plan would create more jobs, and therefore cause people to remain in their communities. If people are not moving from state to state, local economies would become stable, and new housing starts would result from that.

I don’t know if I agree with their proposal, because I am not sure that I really understand it. But if nothing else it breaks away from the way of thinking that has been going on in Washington which has not provided any answers. There is far more to their proposal than what I have written here. You can read their proposal HERE.

P.S. This is a great time to purchase a home. The prices and interest rates are low and sellers are motivated to sell.  Whether you are a First Time Homebuyer or have bought several homes in the past, you will still need to get Pre-Approved for a loan. I can help!

George Souto is a loan officer who can assist you with all your FHA, CHFA, and Conventional mortgage needs in CT. George can be contacted at (860)573-1308 or at gsouto@mccuemortgage.com.

Ledyard Real Estate Update

For those of you who have been receiving my weekly report or reading my blog regularly, you know I occasionally report on a particular price range. Last week a home in Ledyard closed at $480,000. We  haven’t seen a sale in Ledyard this high in quite some time so I took the opportunity to do a little research.

$400,000 sales used to be quite common in Ledyard. There were 29 sales in 2005 closed at $400,000 or more, 17 in 2006, 26 in 2007, and 11 in 2008. There were no sales in 2009 over $400,000 and only 1 sale in 2010. There have been 5 sales far in 2011 although 3 of those were sold at exactly $400,000.  Sadly, most of those that paid over $400,000 between 2005 and 2008 will take a huge loss if they try to sale their homes today.

                                                   Ledyard Real Estate Statistics

Below you will find Ledyard Real Estate statistics provided by Real Market Reports. This report, dated 8/15/2011, includes all sales in Ledyard including condominiums and mobile homes. As a result, the numbers will differ slightly from my reports which were updated today and show residential single family homes only.

Ledyard Real Market reports that a total of 70 contracts have closed in the last 6 months with an average sold price of $223,011 and average days on market of 91. The average list price (asking price) of homes currently on the market is $265,300.

The report describe the market as "somewhat slow" with the $200,000 - $250,000 price range containing the highest # of sold listings.

A total of 42 listings have expired in that same time period. The $150,000 - $200,000 price range has the highest number of expired listings at 10 properties. Listings may expire for many reasons such as being priced too high, having been inadequately marketed, the property was in poor condition, or perhaps the owner had second thoughts about selling at this particular time.

Ledyard Real Estate Report 8-15-2011

View more documents from Linda Davis.

Ledyard Snapshot

Number of Homes Sold in 2011: 88
There were 139 residential home sales in Ledyard in 2010.
There were 149 residential home sales in Ledyard in 2009.
There were 143 residential home sales in Ledyard in 2008.
There were 213 residential home sales in Ledyard in 2007.

The highest priced home to sell in 2011: $480,000

There were 5 new listings, 4 pending sales, and 2 closed sales in the past week.

 The lovely home pictured above is my listing located on 12 Eska Drive.

        

Listings and sales reported by the members of the CT Multiple Listing Service, Inc and may not represent all sales.
Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Ledyard Photo Friday – The Ledyard Fair Clam Chowder

I found this Ledyard Fair Photo while digging for something to post today and decided to search online for the official “Fair’s Famous Clam Chowder” recipe. I didn’t find the recipe but came across this blog post from Wendy Gunderson who talks about her childhood memories of the famous Ledyard Fair Clam Chowder.

The Ledyard Fair will be held this year on September 9th – 11th.

Simply Ledyard Recipes - Zucchini Pie

Disclaimer:  This isn’t a recipe blog but the zucchini used in this recipe did come from a Ledyard garden. 

Gardeners are always trying to unload zucchini. Unfortunately, my yard is mostly shade or I promise I would have a huge garden and would be trying to give away the stuff too. After making several loaves of bread, I decided it was time to experiment. I found this recipe for Mimi’s Zucchini Pie at one of my favorite recipe websites. My results photo below.